II Thessalonians 2:16 “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,”
It is “through grace” that our “Lord” grants and endows us with joy, peace, comfort, security, etc. In this context, our “Lord” has granted and endowed us with the blessedness of His love, and with “everlasting consolation and good hope”. When our “Lord” applies the soothing balm of His “grace”, our pains just don’t seem as severe, our fears are not nearly as bad as we thought, our confusions are replaced with good understanding, our loneliness is filled with fellowship, and our sadness is overcome by gladness. Furthermore, when we pause for a moment and consider how our Lord has already graced us with love, “consolation”, and “good hope”; we are greatly encouraged, for we are reminded that the “Lord” Who has “delivered us” in times past, is the same “Lord” that “doth deliver” us at this very moment, and is the same “Lord” that “will yet deliver us” in our future tribulations (II Corinthians 1:10) and ultimately to Eternal Life to be Forever with Him. So, let’s take a moment and join Philip Doddridge in singing, “Grace, ‘tis a charming sound, Harmonious to the ear …”!